ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Education
IIT Kharagpur and NCDC Sign MoU to Promote Sustainable Developments in Cooperatives, Agriculture and Allied Sectors
Kolkata, April 20, 2021
IIT Kharagpur and the National Cooperative Development Corporation  have signed a MoU towards greater collaboration in issues and areas related to the development of cooperatives, agriculture and allied sectors and to the holistic approach towards sustainable development today.
The scope of the MoU will involve the advancement of training, action research, studies, policy analysis, policy advice, consultancy, monitoring, evaluation, system development and technology development. Both organizations will collaborate and supplement the utilization of resources and facilities on matters pertaining to ‘Formation and Promotion of Farmer Producer Organisation’, with the focus on sustainable business, capacity building, training and skill development of stakeholders.
Besides, skilling of youth through trainee/student exchange programmes including providing internship opportunities to students or alumni will be pursued under the SAHAKAR MITRA -NCDC Scheme on Internship Programme .
A Joint Working Group will also be set up to monitor various activities under the MoU and suggest necessary measures for its development.
This MoU will promote greater collaboration towards sustainable development in cooperatives, agriculture and allied sectors. It will also involve the advancement of training, action research, studies, policy analysis, policy advice, consultancy, monitoring, evaluation, system development and technology development. Besides, it will provide support towards the 'Formation and Promotion of Farmer Producer Organisation'. This apart, it will have the opportunities for trainee/student exchange programme including providing internships
According to the Director Prof. V K Tewari, “IIT Kharagpur has been working in various skill development and sustainable development projects through various programs and outreach initiatives at the Dept. of Agricultural and Food Engineering and Centre for Rural Development and Innovative Sustainable Technology. Keeping in mind the need to strengthen the rural workforce and build sustainable solutions for them would require more exposure of the students and researchers as well as the target groups and end-users.”
Earlier in March this year, Mr. Sundeep Kumar Nayak, Managing Director, NCDC, visited the Agricultural and Food Engineering  Department and interacted with the faculty members. It was decided to take the discussion to the next level of formal engagement between the Department and the NCDC. The Managing Director and Prof. R. Banerjee  agreed to join forces so that the relevant innovations could potentially be appropriated and eventually disseminated to empower rural India through cooperatives and FPOs.
Ministry of Science & Technology
Classification method based on Deep Learning  network, for evaluation of hormone status, can predict progression of breast cancer
Scientists have developed a classification method based on Deep Learning  network to evaluate hormone status for prognosis of breast cancer. The proposed framework is a reliable alternative to manual methods for automatic grading systems used to determine scoring of estrogen receptor status for predicting progression of breast cancer.
Breast cancer is the most common invasive cancer, which accounts for 14% of cancers amongst Indian women, both in rural and urban India. In India, post-cancer survival rate related to breast cancer was reported to be 60% which is approximately 80% of Indian patients younger than 60 years of age. Such alarming numbers could be reduced if the cancer is diagnosed at an early stage.
A team from the Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology , an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India, have presented the novel Deep Learning  based quantitative evaluation of estrogen or progesterone status with the help of Immunohistochemistry  specimen to grade for prediction of breast cancer.
The study by Dr. Lipi B Mahanta and her group was done in collaboration with clinicians of B Borooah Cancer Institute, the premier cancer institute of the region. With an enormous prospect for converting to a workable commercial software, this work has been accepted for publication in the pioneer journal “Applied Soft Computing”.
While breast cancer is generally diagnosed after a visual microscopic examination of a biopsy sample, for prognostic and predictive stratification, IHC molecular marker plays a vital role. IHC strain is used as a prognostic marker in breast cancer pathology and involves a special kind of colour staining for identifying malignant nuclei. It possesses different intensity based on which categories are defined in terms of Allred score  respectively. Scoring systems called Allred and H-score are used by pathologists in the quantification of the immunohistochemical reaction of estrogen receptor  and progesterone receptor  tissue slides. Hormone receptors, namely estrogen receptor  and progesterone receptor  contribute to predicting cancer progression and associated risk of late recurrence of the disease.
This prompted to find effective solutions towards its management with the assistance of advanced artificial intelligence technologies. The team developed an algorithm that indicated whether or not the cancer cells have hormone receptors on their surface. This study proposed a new method based on deep learning network for precisely segmenting out the stained nuclei region from breast tissue images. The proposed architecture, namely IHC-Net, can semantically segment the exact positive and negative nuclei from tissue images. Finally, an ensemble method is used, which integrates the decision of three machine learning  models for the final Allred cancer score.
[Publication link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asoc.2021.107136
For more details, Dr. Lipi B Mahanta  can be contacted.]
Ministry of Finance
Income Tax Department conducts searches in Assam
The Income Tax Department started a search and survey action on 04/12/2020 in the cases of leading Coal Traders of Assam. The search and survey actions are being carried out at 21 locations in Guwahati, Digboi, Margherita and Delhi.
The main allegations against the group are that it has routed accommodation entries of more than Rs. 23 crore and Rs. 62 crore in the form of non-genuine share capital and non-genuine unsecured loans respectively, through certain Kolkata-based shell companies. All this was done by suppression of its true net profit.
During the course of the search action, it has been established that the group engages in out-of-books transactions. Handwritten documents/Diaries regarding cash transactions have been recovered which are not reflected in the regular books of accounts. Such transactions detected so far across all the locations combined is upwards of Rs. 150 crore, of which payments made of a total of more than Rs. 100 crore have been found to be violative of various sections of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Such seized documents are voluminous and are being investigated further.
Further, loan transactions made in cash were also found to be more than Rs. 10 crore. Stock difference of more than Rs. 7 crore was found and no cogent explanation regarding the same was provided.
In the office of the Kolkata-based shell company acquired by one of the entities of the group, no books of accounts and ROC mandated documents were found, proving the same to be a bogus entity used only to route unaccounted income of the group.
Unexplained cash of approximately Rs. 3.53 crore has also been found during the search, which has been seized by the Department. Cash investments in Share Capital during demonetization period were also detected.
Further investigations are going on.
Ministry of Finance
Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme 2020-21  – Issue Price
In terms of Government of India Notification No. F.No.4-B//2020 dated April 13, 2020, Sovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21  will be opened for the period July 6-10, 2020 with Settlement date July 14, 2020. The issue price of the Bond during the subscription period shall be Rs `4,852  – per gram, as also published by RBI in their Press Release dated July 03, 2020.
Government of India in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India has decided to allow discount of Rs `50  per gram from the issue price to those investors who apply online and the payment is made through digital mode. For such investors the issue price of Gold Bond will be Rs `4,802  per gram of gold.
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
India at the forefront in Climate Change dialogue at the global stage
Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change ,Shri Prakash Javadekar will be attending ministerial conference of BRICS  and BASIC countries in Sao Paulo, Brazil .BASIC countries are bloc  of four large newly industrialized countries – Brazil, South Africa, India and China.
Before leaving for Brazil, Shri Javadekar said that India under the leadership of Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, is no more a back bencher but is at the forefront of environmental dialogue at the international arena. “When I went to Paris people were suspicious whether BASIC will remain intact or not. But we remained not only intact, but a force to reckon with in final negotiations, this time also we will review the status after Paris and what is the stand we need to take in UN session as well as next stop in Chile.”, said the Environment Minister
Shri Javadekar stressed that the responsibilities that we have undertaken under the Paris Agreement, we are walking the talk on that and we hope that the world especially the developed countries will also fulfill their commitments towards developing countries in terms of financial and technical assistance.
Competition Commission of India
CCI imposes a penalty on paper manufacturers for indulging in cartelisation
The Competition Commission of India  issued a final order yesterday against certain companies manufacturing paper from agricultural waste and recycled wastepaper as well as an association, which were found to have contravened the provisions of Section 3 of the Competition Act, 2002 , read with Section 3 thereof, which proscribe anti-competitive agreements.
The case was initiated suo motu by the Commission on the basis of certain material found during the ongoing investigations of two other cases. Although the DG investigated 21 original paper manufacturers and the association, it only recorded findings of contravention of the provisions of Section 3 of the Act read with Section 3 thereof against ten  such paper manufacturers and the association. The period of cartel was noted by the DG to be from September 2012 till March 2013.
CCI found these companies and an association which provided its platform, for such activities to have indulged in cartelisation in fixing the prices of writing and printing paper.
In this backdrop and further considering that during the pandemic, most businesses moved to the virtual mode thereby reducing the need for paper and affecting the paper business, CCI imposed a symbolic penalty of Rs. 5 lakh each on the ten  paper manufacturers found guilty of cartelisation.
Further, a penalty of Rs. 2.5 lakh was imposed on the association for providing its platform for anti-competitive activities. Apart from the above, CCI also directed the above paper manufacturers and the association, and their respective officials who have been held liable in terms of the provisions of Section 48 of the Act, to cease and desist in the future from indulging in anti-competitive conduct.
A copy of the order is available on the CCI website at www.cci.gov.in.
Ministry of Culture
Webinar on ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat - Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ organized
A webinar on ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat - Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ was organized today by Regional Outreach Bureau  & Press Information Bureau , Chandigarh under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India.
On this occasion, guest speaker Dr Sunny N M, Coordinator , University of Calicut, Kerala briefed participants about the role of Kerala in India’s freedom struggle. He dwelled on the visits made by Mahatma Gandhi in support of various social movements like Vaikom Satyagraha etc., in state during the freedom struggle. He also mentioned prominent freedom fighters like K Kelappan, Accamma Cherian, K Ramakrishnan Pillai, Kuttimalu Amma, K Kumar etc. and highlighted their contributions in various phases of the freedom struggle. K Kelappan, also known as Kerala Gandhi, was a major influence on social movements namely Vaikom Satyagrah, Guruvayur Satyagraha etc., he added.
During the webinar, Sh. Sudhir Ramaul from Himachal Pradesh apprised participants about the role played by his grandfather & father Late Sh. Shiva Nand Ramaul and Late Sh. Jag Mohan Ramaul respectively in India’s Freedom struggle.
Shri Himanshu Pathak, Assistant Director, PIB, Chandigarh in his welcome address informed the participants that one of the major objectives of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is to promote the spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat. The Mahotsav will work to enhance interaction and promote mutual understanding between people of different States & Union Territories, he added.
Sh. Anil Dutt Sharma, Field Exhibition Officer, Field Outreach Bureau , Shimla moderated the session and Ms. Sapna, Assistant Director, ROB Chandigarh presented a vote of thanks to the speakers and the participants present. Other officials from the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in the region also participated in the webinar.
Ministry of Defence
Cycle Expedition Flagged In
The gallant soldiers of DOGRA Regiment of Western Command under took an audacious Cycle Expedition covering a distance of approx 1000 kms in 24 days in remote areas of Himachal Pradesh. Aim of the Expedition was three fold – firstly to establish contact with the Ex Servicemen, War Heroes and Veer Naris in remote areas and address their problems, secondly to meet local children & youth and motivate them to join the Indian Army and thirdly to instil adventure spirit amongst soldiers. The team, comprising of one officer, one JCO and 10 ORs, was Flagged Off from Shimla on 15 Jun 19. They travelled through Narkanda, Rampur, Karchham, Pooh, Sumdo, Kaza, Manali, Kullu, Mandi, Bilaspur and Nalagarh before finally reaching Chandigarh on 08 Jul 2019. Along the route, the team negotiated two difficult mountain passes- Kunzum La  and Rohtang La  and visited the famous Chandra Tal Lake . The team conducted Veer Naris and Ex-servicemen meet at Bilaspur on 06 July 19. The expedition route is one of the most challenging routes in the country and is a true test of human endurance and resilience. Under taking and successfully completing a multifaceted mission of this magnitude is hallmark of Indian Army and the fighting spirit of its soldiers.
Lt Gen Surinder Singh, Army Commander Western Command Flagged In the cycle expedition at Chandimandir on 8th July and complimented the Expedition Team.
Lt Col Mohit Vaishnava
for PRO 
(Visitor Counter : 412
PIB Headquarters
BIS RAIDS A FAKE PACKAGED DRINKING WATER UNIT  AT NANGUNERI, TIRUNELVELI DIST
A team of officials from Bureau of Indian Standards , Southern Regional Office , Chennai conducted enforcement search and seizure operation  on 05.02.2020 at M/s S. S AQUA INDUSTRIES, 1033/B, SANA GARDEN, NANGUNERI BLOCK & TK, VIJAYANARAYANAM, 627 118 on information of suspected violation of BIS Act 2016. The details of search and seizure operation are given below:
During the operation at M/s S.S. AQUA INDUSTRIES, 1033/B, SANA GARDEN, NANGUNERI BLOCK & TK, VIJAYANARAYANAM. 1 litre PET bottles and 500ml PET bottles were seized from the unit having BRAND NAME as SANAFI with fake ISI mark.
Action is being initiated by Chennai Branch Office, SRO against the offender under Bureau of Indian Standards Act 2016. The offence is punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend up to two years or with fine which shall not be less than Two lakh rupees for the first contravention and not be less than Five lakh rupees for the second and subsequent contraventions as per section 29 of BIS Act, 2016.
General public are, therefore, requested that in case they come across any instances of Misuse of ISI Mark, the same may be intimated to the BIS Southern Regional Office, CIT Campus, 4th Cross Road, Taramani, Chennai-600 113. Such complaints can also be made by E-Mail at the address sro@bis.org.in or by Fax to 044-22541087. The source of such information will be strictly kept confidential.
For further information contact BIS SRO Chennai Office on Phone No: 044-2254 1442. BIS Website www.bis.gov.in may be browsed for general information on BIS., according to a press release issued by Shri. H.Ajay Khanna, Deputy Director-PR, BIS SRO, Chennai.
Ministry of Railways
Ministry of Railways and MRVC sign an MoU for 2018-19
Ministry of Railways signed a Memorandum of Understanding  with Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation Ltd , a Joint venture of Ministry of Railways and the Government of Maharashtra, under the administrative control of the Ministry of Railways. MRVC is implementing Rail projects on Mumbai suburban system under Mumbai Urban Transport Projects .
The MoU was signed on May 22, 2018 by Railway Board Secretary, Shri Ranjanesh Sahai and Chairman and Managing Director of MRVC, Shri R S Khurana and laid down the targets for 18-19 for various important activities of suburban projects.
As per targets under MoU, MRVC shall spend Rs. 1464 crore towards completion of various suburban projects of capacity enhancement, safety up-gradation and passenger amenities. These projects under MUTP will contribute in a great way towards making the suburban commute of Mumbaikars fast, safe and comfortable.
Prime Minister's Office
Newly elected Sarpanches from J&K call on PM
48 newly elected Sarpanchesof Panchayats from Jammu and Kashmir called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi today.
The delegation was led by Shri Shafiq Mir, President of the All Jammu &Kashmir Panchayat Conference.
The delegation conveyed its appreciation to the Prime Minister for empowering the institutions of local self-governance through the successful and peaceful conduct of Panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Prime Minister conveyed his best wishes to the newly elected representatives. He exhorted them to strive for the welfare and upliftment of people.He assured the delegation that he and his Government are committed to the empowerment of the people, and will stand shoulder to shoulder with the local government representatives for the welfare of the State, to fulfil the aspirations of the masses. He urged the members of the delegation to prioritize people’s interests, as the people have reposed enormous faith and hope on them.
The Prime Ministercongratulated the local representatives for the courage displayed by them in the face of heavy odds; and for successfully participating in the democratic process, despite threats and intimidation. He assured them of the Government of India’s full support for making the Panchayati Raj model a success, and responsive to the people’s basic necessities and grievances. Empowerment of grassroots institutions is a significant step in taking Jammu and Kashmir away from the path of violence and secure the rights and development of the local populace.
He also appreciated the participation of women in the recent Panchayat elections.
Background
Devolution of powers at the grassroots level is a unique opportunity for people to become stakeholders in their own developmental process. The J&K Panchayat Act was passed in 1989, but only three of the allotted 25 functions under the Act were actually provided budgetary support. The Government has now amended the J&K Panchayati Raj Act of 1989 and transferred Rs 2,000 Crore per annum to the Panchayats. Another Rs 1,200 Crore has been made available to the Urban Local Bodies. The Panchayats will directly monitor activities pertaining to 19 departments/subjects and carry out audits of government schemes and projects.
Elections to 1,100 Urban Local Body wards were held after a gap of 13 years; and 35,000 Panchayats after seven years in Nov-Dec 2018. 74 percent voter turnout  was witnessed in the Panchayat elections.
To take the process forward, a training programme for 40,000 grass-roots representatives will be undertaken soon. The Sarpanches will be provided a monthly honorarium of Rs 2,500 and Rs 1,000 per month will be disbursed to each Panch.
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
TOPS to cover visit of renowned sports science expert Genadijus Sokolovas to the National Swimming camp
Renowned physiologist and sports science expert Dr. Genadijus Sokolovas will be visiting the National Swimming camp being conducted at CSE Bangalore between January 11 and February 21 this year for a period of 6 days. His visit is expected to give a boost to the training and preparation of senior national campers and TOPS Developmental swimmers like Srihari Nataraj, Kushagra Rawat and Mihir Ambre, who will get access to an internationally renowned expert.
Dr. Sokolovas has headed the Department of Physiology and Sport Science of the USA Swimming Federation for 8 years and has also taken care of US swimmers, water polo players and triathletes. Dr. Sokolovas renowned research methodology has found consultations with leading swimmers including 28-time Olympic medalist Michael Phelps.
The visit which is proposed between February 2 and February 7,2021 will have the following objectives:
1. Swim Power Test
2. Lactate Clearance Test
3. Lactate Heart Profile
4. Seasonal Training Design
5. Coaches Workshop
His visit will not just help the swimmers but also the coaches who will get exposure to the technology used to develop training and long-term plans for athletes.
Secretary General, Swimming Federation of India, Monal Chokshi is excited at bringing Sokolovas for the camp and is hopeful that it will help in long-term development of swimmers, saying “I am very thankful to SAI for approving SFI’s proposal to bring in a globally acclaimed sports scientist like Dr Genadijus Sokolovas to India. This visit will herald in qualitative changes in Indian swimming by bringing world class sport science support closer to our elite swimmers and potential talent for 2024 and 2028.”
The overall cost of Dr. Sokolovas’ visit is Rs. 8.78 Lakhs and will be covered by the Target Olympic Podium Scheme. Costs include professional charges, airfare, boarding and lodging, visa and transport.
Ministry of Education
Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan contributes Rs. 5.49 Crore for Kerala Flood Relief
EdCIL  Limited presents dividend cheque of Rs 11 crore for the year 2017-18 to HRD Minister Shri Prakash Javadekar
Union Minister for Human Resource Development Shri Javadekar handed over a cheque of Rs. 5,49,74,086/-, of KVS for Kerala Flood relief to Sh. Puneet Kumar, Resident Commissioner, Govt. of Kerala in the presence of Sh. Santosh Kumar Mall, Commissioner, KVS in New Delhi today.
This amount of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan has been contributed by the employees of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan.
Ministry of HRD had appealed to all officers and staff of Ministry of HRD as well as of the organizations under its control to contribute one day’s salary as relief to the flood affected people of Kerala.
The officers and staff of KVS have expressed solidarity with the flood affected people of Kerala and contributed generously an amount of Rs. 5,49,74,086/- .
EdCIL  Limited, a Mini Ratan Category-ICPSE under Ministry of HRD, Government of India, presented highest ever dividend cheque of Rs 11 crore for the year 2017-18.
Shri Diptiman Das, CMD, EdCIL presented the dividend cheque to Shri Prakash Javadekar in the presence of Shri R. Subrahmanyam, Secretary .
The company registered a steep under growth of 82.5 % to Rs. 288.71 Crores and a PBT of Rs. 54.91 Crores with a growth rate of 16.13%.
EdCIL offers Project Management and Consultancy solutions across education verticals covering ICT/IT Solutions, Online Testing and Assessment Services, Advisory Services, Infrastructure, PMC, Procurement and Overseas Education Services.